


Happily

by MaddieandChimney



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, cute supportive chimney, pre-established madney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24587356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: She hasn’t known him long, barely a few months but it feels like a lifetime. And that’s still not long enough to stop the way her entire body is shaking right then.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11
Collections: Madney One-Shots





	Happily

The moment he suggests it, she tenses up. His hand is pressing against her forehead in an attempt to stem the bleeding, and she has to resist the urge to push him away. “C-can’t you just patch me up?” She’s hopeful, but the look on his face tells her everything she needs to know – he’s going to insist she goes to the hospital.

“I’m a Paramedic, Maddie. You’re going to need stitches and an x-ray.”

“It’s just a sprain.”

“I still need you to get it looked at, Maddie.” She watches as he pulls away the towel, carefully examining the wound with a frown on his face. She can see nothing but complete concern on his face – he’s kind, gentle and loving and she knows it’s different. But it still doesn’t make her want to go to the hospital. She hasn’t known him long, barely a few months but it feels like a lifetime. And that’s still not long enough to stop the way her entire body is shaking right then.

She chews down on her lip, the tears stinging her eyes, “Please don’t make me go.” Her voice is a broken whisper, cracking when the tears start to fall, “I can’t go, please. I-I’ve dealt with worse and not gone, please…” There’s a pleading in her voice that causes him to falter for a second, until he shakes his head and takes his wrist in his hand, focusing his attention on that so he doesn’t have to look into her eyes right then.

“You could have a concussion and if you don’t get stitches, it’ll scar—”

“I’m used to scars a-and… you can stay the night?” They’re _just_ friends, who constantly hang out, she’s never asked him to stay the night before but if it means the difference between staying home and having to sit in ER, she knows which she would rather. It wasn’t often that he would actually take her (or she’d have to take herself) and it would always have to be a few towns over to avoid the possibility of bumping into someone they knew. But the times she did go, having to explain herself, come up with different lies each time, she could _see_ the look in their eyes because they knew. Just like she knew every single time she was dealing with a victim in her own ER.

She misses the way he flinches, too caught up in her own thoughts to see Chimney quickly wiping a tear that escapes down his own cheek. “I know this might be bringing up bad memories, but I can phone Buck to go with you? Or I can be there the entire time?” He doesn’t want to push her, it’s what she adores most about him – he never expects too much, he never pushes too hard.

“I just—hospital meant it was bad enough that he had no other choice. We’d have to drive an hour… to be safe… and then um, he’d wait with me in the ER, squeezing my hand so tight I thought he’d break it. He’d spend the entire wait reminding me that it was my fault until I was so worn down by the time I saw a doctor—” She shrugs her shoulders, not able to stop the sob that escapes before she grips his arm with her good hand, “They never believed me but they couldn’t do anything. No one could help.”

There’s silence between the two for a moment, until he nods his head, “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But you don’t have to lie this time – you slipped in the shower.” He frowns, remembering the sound of the crash as he had been sitting on the couch, waiting for Maddie to get ready. “I can phone your brother if that would make you more comfortable? I could drop you off and wait for you outside? I can…” He sees the desperation in her eyes and he gives her the softest of smiles, “Or I can stay here, patch you up and shut up?”

It’s enough to at least get a laugh out of her as she sniffs, “I like the last option, without the shutting up.” She enjoys the gentle way he runs his fingers over her swollen wrist, and the way his eyes look into hers as he tries to decide if he’s comfortable with her decision.

She reaches her other hand to brush her thumb against his cheek, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not forcing me to do something I don’t want to do even if we both know it’s the right thing… for being you.” He’s standing up and she feels the loss, biting down on her lip to stop herself from pouting as she watches him move towards her kitchen where she keeps the first aid kit. “Howie?”

“Maddie?” She can’t keep her eyes off him when he walks back into the room, the kit in his arms and a kind smile on his face that so easily relaxes her.

“Can we get Chinese food?” He nods without hesitation, kneeling down in front of her as he pulls a bandage out, “And watch a movie?” He’s wrapping her wrist with such care, being so gentle that she can feel the tears welling up again, the contrast to the way Doug would roughly grab her, using her injuries to his advantage, knowing it was when she was at her weakest.

She manages to hold back the tears enough to get out, “And hold me?” The last words are hesitant, and he stops what he’s doing for a moment to look at her.

“Happily.”


End file.
